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D. G. WEEMS. ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

No. 425,965. Patented Apr. 15, 1890.

WITNESSES: IIVVENTOI? m: mm! ranks co, mom-1.1mm, wAsHmr-Tun, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID G. VEEMS, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE ELECTRO- AUTOMATIC TRANSIT COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

ELECTRIC SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 425,965, dated April 15, 1890.

Application filed July 27, 1889.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID G. \VEEMS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltt more, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Electric Railways, of which the following is a full and clear description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 represents a cross-sectional view of a rail and chair, and showing in elevation a portion of a tie-rod and its securing-nuts. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the chair, and showing the meeting ends of two rails. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a section of road, showing the rails and chairs, and showing also the intermediate rests or supports for the rails. Fig. 4 is a detail showing one end of one of the tie-rods and the conical holes in the flanges of the chair and web of the rail. Fig, 5 is a modification of the rail and chair shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a portion of the rail, showing also the chair and one of the rests or supports. Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate views of one of the rests or supports.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in electric railways, and especially in the rails thereof; and it consists in the constructions and combinations of devices which I. shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now describe its construction and indicate the manner in which the same is carried out.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, of the drawings, A indicates the rails of a line of railway, and A the ties or timbers upon which they are laid. The rail A is formed with an upper tread or surface a, upon which the main wheels travel, and a laterally-projecting arm or flange Z), whose under surface is adapted as a tread for suitable supplemental wheels, (not herein shown, but whose pur pose and construction are fully disclosed in my former patents, Nos. 106,802 and 106,804, dated July 9,1889.)

To reduce the weight and consequent cost of the rails, I form them without the usual flanged base and construct them with a Serial No. 318,841. (No model.)

straight vertical web 0, which depends from the center of the web, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. These webs may be of uniform thickness throughout, as shown in Fig. 4, or they may have a base slightly flanged or spread, as shown at (l in Fig. 1; but in both cases by dispensing with the customary heavy flanged bases I not only lessen the weight of the rail, but also greatly reduce its cost of manufacture. The rails are seated upon metallic chairs B, made in one piece and provided with a flanged base, which enable them to be spiked to the ties, and they are each formed with upwardly-extending flanges 6, having preferably outwardlycurved upper ends, which are designed to bear under the head of the rail to serve as a support therefor. The flanges e are separated from each other a distance about equal to the thickness of the vertical web 0 of the rail, so that when the latter is placed in position it will about fill the space between the flanges; but as I prefer to use the rail as a conductor for the electric current I make the web sufiiciently thinner than the space to enable me to introduce between the rail and the flanges and base of the space suitable insulating material f, which prevents the current grounding.

As previously stated, the web c, instead of being of uniform thickness throughout, as shown in Fig. 5, may be slightly flanged, as shown in Fig. 1, in which latter case the base of the space between the flanges 6 will be slightly enlarged to accommodate the base of the rail and the insulating material. (Shown in Fig. 1.)

The chairs are located at the joints of the rails, and to provide a firm support for the mid dle portions of said rails I secure to the intermediate ties the metallic rests or supports G, which have flanges g passing up along the vertical webs c of the rails and holding the rails securely in position against vertical and lateral movement, the said rests or supports and chairs having also the usual strengtheningwebs h, and the rests being insulated from the rails, as shown in Figs. '7 and 8. To still more securely hold the rails in position, I employ tie-rods D, which extend laterally across the track and have their opposite ends passed through the webs of the rails and flanges of the chairs, and being secured by nuts lat opposite sides of the flanges. These tie-bolts may be plain straight rods threaded at both ends, as shown in Fig. 5, or they may be formed with conical portions m, (see Figs. 1 and 4,) in which latter case the hole in the inner flange of each chair and in the vertical web 0 of the rail will be tapered or conical in form to receive said conical part of the tierod, while the hole in the outer flange of the chair will be of uniform diameter to receive the cylindrical portion or extremity of said tie-rod. Around that portion of the bolt which passes through the chair and vertical web of the rail and between the inner faces of the securing-nuts and adjacent faces of the chair I place suitable insulating material, as shown in Fig. 1. The purpose of this construction is obvious, for when the end of the tie-rod is passed through the holes in the chairs and rails the conical portions m of the rods, by engaging the inclined walls of the conical hole in the rail, will tend to draw the rail downward and firmly hold it in position in the chair.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a rail having a vertical web, chairs in which said web is fitted, insulating material between the rail and chairs, securing-bolts passing through the chair and Vertical web, the securing-nuts, and insulating material surrounding the bolt between the nuts and between the inner faces of the nuts and adjacent faces of the chair, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a flanged chair and a rail having a web provided with a conical or tapered hole, of a tie-rod having a conical or tapered portion adapted to fit said hole and to seat the rail firmly on the chair, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a chair having two spaeedflanges, one of which has a slightly tapered or conical hole, of a rail having a web with a conical hole therein, and a threaded tie-rod having a conical portion adapted to engage the conical hole in the web to force the rail to its seat in the chair, the outer ends of said rod being adapted to pass through the outer flanges of the chair and to be secured by nuts, substantially as described.

DAVID G. WEEMS. Witnesses:

T. B. EIKER, O. H. GEORGE. 

